Category Archives: Tourism

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 14, 2010 by David McKee

“Now, there’s an invitation I can’t refuse! Don’t think I want to be one of their freefalling guinea pigs.” — Las Vegan’s response to an invitation to become of one of the first to experience the Stratosphere‘s new 855-foot, 40-mph … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Goldman Sachs, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Betting on Adelson

Posted on April 13, 2010 by David McKee

Analysts at J.P. Morgan are downright bullish on Las Vegas Sands, raising their stock price target by over 25% (to $29/share). Their ebullience is motivated in large part by expectations for Marina Bay Sands, which they estimate will garner 55% … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, CityCenter, Economy, Indiana, Kansas, Lyle Berman, Macau, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Another day at Harrah’s

Posted on April 13, 2010 by David McKee

When you’re $19 billion or so in the hole, what’s another half-billion, right? Such is the case for Harrah’s Entertainment, which intends to issue $500 million in second-priority secured notes (soon upped to $750 million) due 2018. The notes are … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off on Another day at Harrah’s

An arena in every pot

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

A scrum of casino owners and would-be owners is swarming the Clark County Commission with proposed arenas. The Las Vegas City Council may be able to get into the act, as Cordish Cos. is studying the feasibility of a stadium … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Cordish Co., Current, Downtown, Dubai, Economy, Entertainment, Gary Goett, Harrah's, Michael Gaughan, Oscar Goodman, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 1 Comment

Adelson disappoints again, as does Kansas

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

“I don’t think we’re counting on them carrying the ball like we thought they would,” is the bottom line of a Wall Street Journal story on Las Vegas Sands‘ failure to complete $743 million Sands Bethlehem. Even though he once … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Kansas, Lyle Berman, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tourism | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

“My concern is they overspent on the two integrated resorts. Instead of allowing both casinos to open in a more relaxed way during the first few years, the [integrated resorts] are now under tremendous pressure.” — Singapore-based casino consultant Ronald … Continue reading →

Posted in Genting, International, Macau, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tourism | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Gold Strike Tunica exonerated; “Trek” frittered away

Posted on April 6, 2010 by David McKee

The honor of MGM Mirage‘s Gold Strike Tunica has been restored by reader Sin City Cyn, who writes: “Speaking of resort fees … I promised to report back on the pool fee situation at Tunica’s Gold Strike. I’m happy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Downtown, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Station Casinos, Tourism, TV | 5 Comments

Phrase of the Day

Posted on April 5, 2010 by David McKee

“Elongated length of play metrics.” That’s Wall Streetspeak for, “We think additional hotel rooms [at City of Dreams] are causing people to stay and play longer.” I expect we’ll be hearing a lot about ELPM “going forward,” as they say … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Tourism | 1 Comment

A comment on “Comments”

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

Due to an as-yet-inexplicable malfunction in our blogging software, all comments, regardless of provenance — yes, even mine — are shunted directly into “Spam.” Since I no longer receive notification of the arrival of a comment that may require moderation … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, Ohio, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Solitude at Trump

Posted on March 30, 2010 by David McKee

As the old saying goes, I have so much to do that I am going to bed. Actually, no, but I’m still wrapping my feeble brain around the double-whammy of the Station Casinos bankruptcy proposal and the brewing triads-at-Sands Macao … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Economy, Macau, Pennsylvania, Phil Ruffin, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism | 7 Comments

$290 million for Borgata

Posted on March 29, 2010 by David McKee

That’s what MGM Mirage’s half is expected to bring and it won’t happen until next year, according to J.P. Morgan‘s latest set of estimates. We could debate whether or not MGM should have started shopping the place a year ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Harrah's, International, Macau, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off on $290 million for Borgata

Now this is different …

Posted on March 29, 2010 by David McKee

Conventional wisdom in Las Vegas held that big fights drove big business. But who ever heard of a marquee boxing match being offered as a loss leader. That’s how MGM Mirage is promoting “The Rivals: Hopkins vs. Jones.” I’m not … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Economy, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Sports, The Strip, Tourism | 4 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 29, 2010 by David McKee

“At Bellagio, MGM is offering no promotions.” — from this week’s J.P. Morgan “LV Strip Room Rate Survey” … and from every week’s such survey seemingly since time immemorial, making Bellagio the only MGM Mirage Strip hotel of which this … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 25, 2010 by David McKee

“The environment, the crowd and the merchandise is on par with Florida. In the Singapore context, this service is very good. There are always common complaints in Singapore about lousy, rock-bottom service, but these people make a difference.” — “Vijay,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Genting, Singapore, Tourism | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

A clarification, a continuation & a poll

Posted on March 25, 2010 by David McKee

Firstly, in defense of both LVA and our research department, they’ve been following the subject of resort fees since the June 16, 2007 Question of the Day. These past couple of weeks we’ve been trying to get a handle on … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Current, Dining, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

Mystery solved (sorta)

Posted on March 24, 2010 by David McKee

It would seem that all your comments, dear readers, have been getting shunted straight into “Spam” without so much as a by-your-leave to me as to whether they should be approved, edited, moderated or whatever. I’ve liberated approximately messages from … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Downtown, Economy, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Mystery solved (sorta)

The Roman empire strikes back

Posted on March 24, 2010 by David McKee

@CaesarsPalace Ask yourself: would a Caesar pay resort fees? Why should you? Twitter follower rates from $100. http://bit.ly/aA2Qcm 4 minutes ago via Seesmic @ParisVegas Resort fees are a sucker bet. That’s why we don’t charge them. Twitter follower rates from … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on The Roman empire strikes back

Re$ort fee$: the latest

Posted on March 23, 2010 by David McKee

Poor MGM Mirage; it can’t stay out of the news these days. At the moment, our LVA research staff is trying to get the skinny on the spread of “resort fees” through the company’s Strip properties. (Stock analysts love them … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Tourism | 26 Comments

Case Bets: Gibbons vs. gaming; Pansy Ho; R-J shocked, shocked!; Rat Pack not back

Posted on March 19, 2010 by David McKee

First off, a hearty S&G salute to Steve Friess, named “Best Blogger” by the readers of Las Vegas CityLife. (Yes, I was nominated but didn’t even make it into second place. I’ll live.) As you scroll — and scroll — … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Economy, Entertainment, Macau, Midnight Jim Gibbons, New York, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Taxes, Technology, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Cloud 9 brought to earth

Posted on March 19, 2010 by David McKee

We’ve been enjoying [sic] an unusually blustery winter in Las Vegas. All that’s missing is Eeyore. Well, him and now the Cloud 9 sightseeing balloon. This piquant Strip attraction met a tragic end yesterday. (Douchebaggy Fox 5 doesn’t permit video … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, M Resort, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV | Comments Off on Cloud 9 brought to earth